How The MINI Cooper Lost Its Cool

[@oldred9122]

The original Mini had a reputation of being simple, affordable, reliable, and easy to work on. The new Mini has the opposite reputation.

[@losdesmayosdeNestor]

Yup! Their reliability is no good

[@Muzzaa]

I've had minis all my life and never had serious problems with any of them.

[@tombarclay7108]

I had friends with BMC minis when I lived in the UK in the 1960/70's. They were way too cramped... and dangerous. One of my friends had a minivan (like the car, only with a van body), and he used to drive at crazy speeds. He ended up rear ending a truck, and was decapitated. Absolutely no good for long trips. Extremely noisy. I'm not surprised that sales are dropping in the US. The price they charge for those things is extortionate. It's like trying to sell a Vespa scooter as a fuel effective Harley Davidson.

[@ARCHID_COC]

Reality: there are no cars anymore that are "simple, affordable, reliable, and easy to work on" so that metric really isn't viable in the 21st century.

[@tombarclay7108]

@Stephen Hill My point was, they weren't safe back then, and they still aren't safe. If you have a collision with a medium sized car, or bigger, you're less likely to come out of it alive. I believe that the reliability issue relates more to the modern minis. I never knew anyone back then who had any major mechanical problems with the old simple models.

[@ralone8314]

"it was more become famous after The Italian job movie back in 1969" Wait i thought it's became famous because of Mr.Bean

[@thabangstevenmolefe1287]

i was thinking about that the entire time.bean deserves the credit

[@jon-unicorn-doxxer]

I thought mr.bean is in 80's or something?

[@emperorfaiz]

Jon N It’s a 90’s show and I’m pretty sure that show is the bigger influence for mini especially the light green and double black bars decal.

[@ralone8314]

@@emperorfaiz i wonder why they didn't even mention it ? I barely remember The Italian job movie but I'm sure almost everyone in the world knows Mr.Bean

[@kkk2.077]

Yeah it became famous because of Mr Bean and GTA Vice city

[@golden4730]

Here's the ANSWER: It lost its cool because it is no longer MINI and no longer affordable price tag!

[@indridcold8433]

Reliability is an issue also. The people that have them seem to have them at the mechanic several times a year.

[@ahmedmahay]

This is the correct answer

[@indridcold8433]

@@ahmedmahay Reliability became a huge issue as well. We no longer keep them as company vehicles because of how poorly they held up. They made good fuel economy and thed sales people loved driving them. But every single one we had broke down very quickly. It is a shame. I liked looking at them, though not so much fixing them.

[@neon_lavander]

It never lost its cool and I would say £16,000 before options is not bad

[@DevyKins]

You get one for like, $5,000 my guy

[@neridemol144]

2019 MINI Cooper $21,900 - $36,900 MSR..... Many Americans feel the price tag is too high for what you get .

[@nigelcharlton-wright1747]

How much? Bloody hell, well that's the reason, good old BMW!

[@mananagarwal7002]

@@nigelcharlton-wright1747 In India Mini Cooper Convertible costs $65000

[@ulascansahin4903]

@@mananagarwal7002 Unfortunetly same in Turkey Mini Cooper Convertible costs $61.860,63. Our government making more money with taxes than auto companies.

[@mananagarwal7002]

@@ulascansahin4903 Ya bro

[@flexiblebirdchannel]

It's a BMW. The high price tag of original BWMs is what americans love: A symbol that they can afford it.

[@_B.M_]

This is just an American issue. In Europe, they sell by the bucketload ... people love them!

[@EngelSpiel]

I mean, I'm American, and I see them all the time. They're probably one of the more popular vehicles in my area.

[@frankkolton1780]

@@EngelSpiel Sure. A total of 43,684 Minis were sold in the US last year out of 17.5 million new cars, that's less than even a half percentage point, yet you see them everywhere. LOL, your full of it.

[@EngelSpiel]

Frank Kolton Then maybe it’s just the county where I live. I didn’t say that I’ve been seeing tons of all over the country. And to be fair, you mentioned the Minis sold last year - a lot of the Minis I see look like they’re from the mid-2000s, not last year. Maybe the occasional Countryman, too.

[@pcno2832]

Americans tend to favor big cars, but get occasional temporary infatuations with certain small models, most notably, the VW Beetle, which surged here during the hippie era just when VW was hoping to get rid of it. So it's not surprising that the mini would eventually fall out of favor here. But the poor reliability and high cost of ownership seem to affect owners worldwide. Of course, Europeans have been putting up with FIAT and Renault for decades; will their patience last forever?

[@jesusnice850]

@@EngelSpiel Cool calm and patient. Nice one.

[@federalfinder]

These guys made a WHOLE VIDEO for a 2.8% sales drop... LOL I love my MINI... If it lost its cool, then I'm delusional because everybody loves driving in mine.

[@NothingButRye]

Legit lol. I dont particularly like Mini. But how has it lost its cool? what a negative video..

[@spotsill]

I still like ours but you must live in an area with great network support. We no longer have a dealer and our parts service etc need to be done at the bmw dealership 🤮🤮🤮🤮$$$$$$$$$$$$$. It took two weeks to get a new oil plug and we can’t even get spare keys made. It is fun to own until the expensive repairs start to hit home and your money hard . Ours is being garaged over the winter at this point because we got hit with the now widely known transmission issues the cheapest estimate to replace the module is $1,500 (70,000 miles). Sealed transmission and nobody can drain the transmission and replace the filter for us as suggested . The bmw dealer treats us like crap because working on our mini is beneath them 😂😂😂😂.

[@Gaudine]

I wouldn’t own one but I like how they look. Especially the round headlights and the Union Jack rear lights

[@psychoamerican]

I know right? I use my Mini countryman as a family car since junking my Honda CRV but despite less space it's still enjoyable and fun to cruise around in it lol

[@connorbush7848]

Dude my mini is amazing, it almost has 200,000 miles and nothing is wrong w it, I see a ton of minis everyday where I live, nothing about the mini is dying and they are fairly reliable little cars.

[@Deuteross]

The video doesn't in any way support the clickbaity thesis that the Mini lost its cool.

[@delavago5379]

This was expected

[@mooglemy3813]

Right! It never had it for many. Get a Japanese make especially from Honda and Toyota and motor on,

[@jackdooley8732]

Your right ,I got click baited.

[@neilturner6749]

MoogleMy if you have any interest in cars or knowledge of driving fun, then you wouldn’t mention the words Toyota and Honda in the same sentence as Mini. You’re talking like someone who simply sees cars as a reliable method of getting from A to B, which is missing the point of a brand like Mini completely.

[@vinesauceobscurities]

These CNBC editorials have always had a major America-centric slant. What I don't understand is why this garbage is being pushed to me on the recommendations.

[@kingofmexico5268]

The problem that mini has is not the quality or the looks it's the BMW price tag you get to service the damn thing

[@erebostd]

My mom has a Cooper s, and after the guarantee ended it never saw the bmw dealership again. There are so many free shops which service this thing very cheap, that's what we use. In fact, she uses lesser money on her car than my daughter on her Vauxhall corsa,since this thing had some quite big problems..

[@mz7786]

Not only the high price tag, but they often lie to their customers to get more repairs, thus more money, from their customers. You can find now most after market parts for very reasonable prices. I found that working on this cars is very fun and there are a lots of forums on how to do the repairs.

[@lex_uss]

I own a F56 Mini cooper (newer generation) and I can assure you it's not unreliable as people might think, I've taken the car for it's normal maintence (not to mention amazing Customer Service) and the interior feels premium but not up to BMW standards, but then again you're not fully paying for a BMW.

[@arijitguha6794]

"How McDonald's and Burger King destroyed the market for Mini." would be right.

[@en1126]

Lol

[@indridcold8433]

Soda had an enormous part in it as well.

[@VenezuelaNow]

My parents has a 1970 Mini, little red thing, 2 adults, 2 kids, 2 dogs, and a weekend's worth of gear and food for the cottage jammed into it, fond memories

[@VenezuelaNow]

BTW my dad paid $1,800 in 1970 which was a huge amount of money for the little thing, I remember his friends thought he was crazy buying it

[@ChoySekMunSimon]

My mom's first car was a 1969 one. It was white and I loved it compared to my dad's Volvo 122.

[@oddities-whatnot]

The old Minis were reliable because nothing really to go wrong. All mechanical, no computers. Ive only ever had problems with modern cars because they are filled with too much tech, sensors and goodness knows what else. Im hoping to get a car for long term ownership at some point and until the electric car industry develops enough to be practical, I may well get a Subaru simply for their ability and robustness.

[@tonyzed6831]

"compete with micro cars developped largely by germany"... shows a Renault Dauphine, not a micro car, not german, and nothing else. Please.

[@nigelcharlton-wright1747]

I noticed that too. They could have used an MGA, Austin Healey 3000, VW Beetle or any other European car.

[@Dromoys]

I saw it and thought "maybe in America they think France is part of Germany?"

[@hagerty1952]

I was going to make the same comment, except I believe that was a Panhard. Still French, though, not German. I guess they couldn't scare up footage of an Isetta or Messerschmidt?

[@BIZARROSCOPE]

@@hagerty1952: Nope, it's a Renault Dauphine. Super famous in France and parts of south America (manufactured in Argentina as Renault Gordini).

[@yannikoloff7659]

The only fact that you've been able to notice that makes you not american. And for american every european car is mini

[@CammieGee]

How does a slight drop in US sales for a car that is still seeing growing sales in other markets translate to that car losing its cool?

[@raymondlonghurst4655]

The original and real mini will always be cool

[@user-bh6zt1it2l]

It makes me laugh that the same people preaching about the environment are buying suvs and crossovers.

[@nigelcharlton-wright1747]

and don't forget those crazy electric cars. They are good for the earth's environment…

[@blairbrown4812]

At least I'm honest enough about my hypocrisy to admit that while I believe man-made climate change is real and must be stopped, it wouldn't prevent me from buying a Dodge Charger if I could.

[@baronvonjo1929]

@@blairbrown4812 Ye. Just got a 4runner lol

[@baronvonjo1929]

Crossovers are actually really fuel efficient it's the body on frame vehicles that tend to be less so. That's why people by CUVs and not as many SUVs and sedans. Mpg plus suv practicality.

[@bcubed72]

They built a shitload of McMansions n the woods I used to play in as a kid. Severasl of these hypocrites drive Prii; some with "eco-leaning" bumper stickers. Sorry: you bulldoze Bambi's living room; you don't get to talk. Yet, these hypocrites love to look down their noses at me in my work truck.

[@thomasthuene3173]

Having driven both, the old and new Mini, I can definitely say that the fun is the same in both of them, and that's what counts. We have a Clubman now, still loads of fun to drive, but we call it our "truck", because there is so much space in it.

[@WHITELIONNYC]

2.8% drop..."lost it's cool" I'm not a math genius... 👋🏿🤔🤔🤔🤔🤨🤔🤔🤔🤔👎🏿

[@jccoello]

From what I understood it's not about the sales numbers, it's about the fan community perception that now it's just another 21st century vehicle and nothing special like the original MINI

[@WHITELIONNYC]

@@jccoello that makes sense

[@frankkolton1780]

You're no genius if you don't use accurate numbers either. Mini Cooper sales in the US for 2017 47,105. Mini sales in the US for 2018 43,684. A drop of 7.3% Mini average total cost for maintenance and repair per year $903. Average cost for subcompact maintenance and repair per year $436 Not cool.

[@TheDavidLiou]

I think this is normal. Whenever the fuel price is relatively low, USA always prefer less efficient, bigger cars.

[@OffGridInvestor]

How much can you keep a car cool based on a design that's been around since 1959...

[@jackdooley8732]

Americans love big cars until the price of gas goes hi.

[@spotsill]

People are stupid and always forget and are always shocked when price for gas Skyrockets again.

[@jackdooley8732]

Here in Colorado they boosted the sales tax by .25%Just to pay for the Light rail .90 % un occupied. Go figure?

[@justinfoxbody]

The problem with the many is that it's one the most unreliable cars you can buy

[@sdbszz706]

Short answer: it wasn’t mini anymore

[@bremCZ]

The mini never lost it's cool. I still have an Austin Mini and it's never not been cool.

[@michaeltrivette1728]

Lol It never had any cool to lose

[@bremCZ]

@@michaeltrivette1728 That's right. It never had any to lose. It had it all to keep.

[@richardbhagan8949]

It lost its cool because it became outdated and then bmw turned it into a fashion item and made it bigger and now cut to present day with even BIGGER 'mini' models.

[@bremCZ]

@@richardbhagan8949 That BMW minis aren't cool doesn't change how cool my old one is, and if it does, it just makes mine cooler.

[@richardbhagan8949]

@@bremCZ Which model year is your mini

[@jurivlk5433]

The hilarious price is the problem.

[@mikevale3620]

The hilarious size of gas guzzling SUV's and Ford pickups is the real problem.

[@jurivlk5433]

@@mikevale3620 No. We're talking about why the "Mini" isn't cool anymore. Of course giant cars are a problém, but not specifically to the Mini.

[@scotte2815]

well part of the problem probly the biggest part of the problem

[@lifeisastruggle5517]

it´s crazy how expensive it is

[@CaptainSteen]

This isn't a Yaris! It's a sports car! 26k base price is very affordable.

[@sveletemelody]

I've had a 2018 Mini Cooper Countryman for almost 2 years. It's still my dream car. Love the way it handles.

[@isabellajohns191]

I love minis too! I’m glad u love minis as well

[@cap10zeus89]

I had a 2016 mini for three years, no problems. I really wanted to get the 2019 but they got more expensive and could no longer afford one. Crazy that I can get a Ford Flex cheaper than a mini now.

[@C.I...]

That's a BMW, not a mini.

[@RLT124]

I have a MINI John Cooper Works 2019 and I love it :)

[@ToffeeJim19]

My first car is a 1993 mini Its the most fun thing to use

[@funaicha1]

Many auto brands have plunging sales but mini is the one losing its "cool" for a 2.8 drop. Genious journalism.

[@NABAS777]

Great video. Part of the reason I feel sales have dropped here in the states is the price. They are expensive. It’s a great product, if the models were priced more efficiently sales would have been steady.

[@eds8633]

I bought my 2004 Mini Cooper S (R53) new and still put smiles every mile to date. It's been reliable and I am keeping it forever. It's always special to me.

[@oddities-whatnot]

Nice one. Ive an F56 Cooper S, should last me a fair while hopefully.

[@darryl3392]

Title should have said “how BMW mini lost the BMC mini cool factor”

[@reezevlog]

Italian Job & Mr.Bean makes Mini so so cool....

[@user-gv1fe5sz2p]

Well that was the most harsh intro ever.

[@de_stroyed]

#journalism

[@defencebangladesh4068]

Yep

[@spotsill]

Classic KZbin click bate😂😂😂.

[@Ptitgars66]

Love how CNBC talks about the German small cars showing à Renault Dauphine... which si French.

[@elultimo102]

But it was designed by Ferdinand Porsche.

[@SevenDeMagnus]

Hi. The Mini lost it's soul when it redesigned it beyond recognition.

[@randolfo1265]

"Micro cars, developed largely by German auto makers" - show French car. Good story though

[@faithlesshound5621]

Good to have that confirmed. I was thinking, "Isn't that a Renault Dauphine?" But what he showed was not a "microcar:" those were the likes of Heinkel, Messerschmitt, Bond and Reliant, which were descendants of the pre-war "cyclecars."

[@Damienov]

Roughing in Japanese Kei Cars

[@davidjacobs8558]

nah... it's mostly due to Scotty Kilmer calling it "Endless Money Pit as it Ages" on his KZbin channel everyday.

[@CallmeStue]

Lol

[@brandoncarlson340]

Lol #2

[@dongolahmed]

I was thinking of the same thing .. lol

[@dmfraser1444]

I have heard many stories about poor reliability for the Mini. The second worst car in the USA and Canada for reliability after the Fiat 500 series of cars. I have heard of many needing a new engine with under 100,000 miles on them. When even cars like my 2004 Ford Focus have the engine still ticking over and using no oil at 150,000 miles and Hondas going well past 200,000. The Mini seems especially prone to catastrophic failures.

[@leoncutajar1369]

The original was an affordable car which sold on it's size, practicality, STILL remarkable handeling and price plus the parts were/are very cheap to buy. The post 1999 car is no smaller then anything else in that category, is usually a lot more expensive and should something go wrong costs a bomb to fix. Apart from the retro cool factor there is no tangible reason to buy one.

[@robertdaone]

It lost its cool when BMW started making them and turned them into unreliable Bigi Coopers.

[@bestbmw1223]

They had to do they could keep up with all the new safety regulations 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@UnknownUser.ar1]

Actually they become more pretty but costly and unreliable.

[@wmcbarker4155]

owned a 1963 and I loved it, most fun driving car ever.

[@royfearn4345]

Me too. Mine went sprinting and hillclimbing. Wonderful memories, not just the car - the era too. Hippies, rock n roll, you name it!

[@matthewjenkins1161]

The Mini has never lost it's cool. The BMW 0.5 series that replaced it, was never cool. The End

[@C.I...]

tada.wav

[@rwdplz1]

The new cars have several significant and substantial flaws, plus the cost of BMW parts. Most savvy shoppers know to avoid them now.

[@rayhanrizvi334]

They are good cars but yea vry unreliable and expensive

[@NPAMike]

a 2019 base price 22k where as the civic and corolla start at 19k. Why would you buy a smaller more expensive car. Its suppose to be a economical car but the civic and corolla cost less get better mpg and is more reliable. The car is overpriced thats why its failing.

[@fridgemagnet9831]

same thing with beetle, why don't they make something affordable for developing world. relying too much on brand a looks and not focused n what cars supposed to do, get you from A to B without making you poor.

[@oguz5717]

mini is a premium brand compated to toyota or honda

[@TEverettReynolds]

This video did a poor job of explaining why anyone would buy a mini. > Its suppose to be a economical car Nope, its not. It drives like a small stock car, and with the turbo engine on the S models, they are quite zippy. My family owns 2 minis, a 2002 Cooper S and an 2015 Cooper S Convertible. They are just fun to drive. And if you get the JCW package, the car is like a race car with over 200 hp... No one in my family knew about or cared about the old minis. Thats all this video talked about.

[@campkira]

bmw.....

[@ClickLikeAndSubscribe]

But would you like a Rising sun on your Corolla mirrors or a Union Jack on your Mini's mirrors?

[@Zags78]

I've owned two a 2016 Cooper S and a 2019 Clubman JCW love em both. My wife loved My clubman so much she got her own. I wouldn't buy a pre 2013 model the have loads of issues but the newer one seem solid and there are loads of mini groups around where I live.

[@tonygunk1886]

Mini never lost their cool, thats how lol

[@C.I...]

The BMW mini was never cool. It is remarkable how they got people who wanted a small practical car to buy a fat, heavy, ugly, impractical speciality coupe instead. The mini name just had that much power, it would seem.

[@SpitfireFortyFour]

Mini lost it's cool in 2000 when it stopped being an Austin and became a BMW.

[@Gosh_Josh]

I'm a technician at a MINI dealer, the original minis were easy to work on, the new minis you can't even change your own battery without needing to take it to the dealer, because otherwise the car will complain to you in the form of warning lights

[@Gosh_Josh]

@Americannovice Twocentnovice there is a joke in the dealer that BMW is a tool company in the car business, nearly every job besides basic maintenance requires some special tool

[@derpherp5557]

I love it when people have no clue what they're talking about.

[@nomayor1]

A MINI review by americans. Enough said.

[@E-087]

@@nomayor1 mini weights 1.5 ton and details look cheap. A half price suzuki swift is waaaay better, weights 500 kg less and it is more reliable. Mini is not what it was

[@nomayor1]

@@E-087 No details on no MINI look or feel cheap. At least test-drive one so that you do not embarrass yourself with what you write. Also I am confident that you will find that, as the global market has evidently proved, no, the half price suzuki swift is not at all better.

[@E-087]

@@nomayor1 right, haven't tried one, but i did go to a dealer because we needed a car, even salesman took us to storage to see more variants and it looks cheap, even the odometer screen and doors. And swift is not an even competition for the price and still wins. Both have similar details but swift with better lightweight materials and more reliable. Audi A1 and Mercedes hatch looks better in details and specs and are the real competitors. And surprisingly, audi is a reliable brand

[@nomayor1]

@@E-087 You can only compare the MINI to a swift, if you are looking at photos of the MINI and a real-life specimen of the swift. The MINI is far ahead, it is head and shoulders better than the swift.

[@jerrystewart2145]

Everyone talking bad about newer MINIs obviously hasn't driven one. Are they expensive? Yes. But worth every penny!

[@bgdrewsif]

Just passed 40,000 miles on my 2016 MINI (Sir Nigel) and haven't regretted it for a second... amazing vehicle!

[@rikidiki8940]

In a way like a fiat 500 the car has its own image and style you can easly point it out in traffic unlike camry accord and sonata type cars but man do they all just fall apart after 100k miles..

[@akhyarrayhka4048]

Its breaks too often, breaks too easy, hard to maintain, and expensive to fix.

[@fivish]

The latest ones have a particulary bad design of engine.

[@Djfmi]

Preach

[@jeanjeudi1111]

Exactly right.

[@Secretarian]

I know someone that bit on the brand allure and bought one. Several months in, bemoaning the endless money pit that it had become. While spending more time awaiting repairs than being on the road. Kind of like VW's new Beetle when they brought it back.

[@timcrawford7306]

I’m American and personally don’t like SUVs. I don’t understand why anyone needs a auto the size of a house and gets ten mpg. I assume when gas prices return to $4 a gallon you’ll change your mind.

[@pcFOREVER89100]

We are taught that bigger is better.

[@dwightstjohn8549]

In LA my old school friends drive an SUV because the dealers made buying new and buying large LESS MONEY than buying an efficient vehicle of better quality for "kash", and too many don't have the cash. The good side is that it's driven largely around a small town, they don't commute every day for two hours, and it's safer when smashed into by all the idiot drivers down there. It's also "Made in "Merica".

[@HammaneggsAirborne]

We love to obsess over crash safety which seems to in part become a bit of an arms race, instead of having tighter control on who can get a license and living in more compact cities.

[@HammaneggsAirborne]

@Max Raider There's plenty of people who want to live in more compact cities. I've met countless people of my generation who wish they lived close to convenient mass transit, and tried to put off getting their drivers license until they have to. Perhaps if you are living out in the midwest or somewhere like that, it's different. As a student of city planning though, the current trend is to redevelop existing cities to be more acessible to people without necessitating cars, and to densify the built environment in a way that makes it more pleasant to live in. Plenty of places, both here and abroad, do quite well with living in smaller spaces than the relatively recent suburban sprawl, and by several metrics even show themselves to be better places to live.

[@FYMASMD]

When you get crushed in an accident in your toy car you will understand the value of a larger vehicle. Simple physics.

[@weirdmindofesh]

When I saw a Mini Countryman on the road, I was baffled, the thing was larger than my Pontiac Sunfire! I was stunned and and slightly angry! There was this thing with a Mini badge that WASN'T a Mini!

[@dr.OgataSerizawa]

Eric Hanchar Good God Almighty!, it was just another car on the road....and you were "baffled, stunned and slightly angry"??? When you see a Mustang on the road are you "baffled" because it has four tires and not four legs? What are you.....some kind of a nut?

[@MrTarmonbarry]

Yes but thats the same with the Fiat 500, used to be a tiny thing , cheap to buy and run , easy to fix but now its grown like its been to McDonalds to often

[@sleepycalico]

Having owned my basic MINI SINCE 2013, I did understand the appeal of the Countryman--people had figured out that they would like to be able to comfortably fit 3 bags of groceries into their cars. Sigh. But, yeah, it lost the cute factor.

[@pedroportillo1585]

@@sleepycalico I have to disagree. The MINI Cooper Countryman is bigger than your standard MINI’s, but they are still smaller than regular sized SUVs from other brands.

[@SuperYellowsubmarin]

They turned it into a crossover, THAT'S HOW

[@hd4100]

This narrator sounds like he's doing a high school project.

[@raimondsstokmanis1892]

Bmw ''reliability'' coupled with bmw prices . Which makes the car be what it wasn't. WHAT COULD GO WRONG?! Also, clickbait title.

[@KariIzumi1]

Accurate

[@fivish]

BMWs are not reliable easily below average. And owners trade them in quicker than any other brand.

[@arniepineda7799]

"Endless Money Pits" -Scotty Kilmer

[@timurermolenko2013]

rolling pile of junk

[@gigi9467]

Hahaha so true!

[@indridcold8433]

If you know your mechanic well, or are a mechanic, and can get one really cheap, sure, get one for fun. But, just don't expect it to be reliable.

[@gigi9467]

Indrid Cold then why would i buy one? Theres so many other cars for tge price that are fun and reliable. Miata, civic si etc

[@indridcold8433]

@@gigi9467 Exactly. You got the point.

[@brian5154]

Mini sells massively in Europe. It is produced in the UK and in the Netherlands. They are not mini anymore though. they are much larger, and very expensive. They have gone way upmarket; BMW has been clever though. Kept the name of course, and the look. Wealthy wives love them !!!!!! Brian Oosterbeek Nederland.

[@Sylpharts]

I understand buying big trucks and SUVs if you actually NEED them to make a living, but so many just buy it as a status symbol it makes me sick thinking that's what is influencing the mainstream market (in the US at least). Take trucks for example; the average workman who needs to buy one can't even afford it because the car industry has shifted to primarily offer only high priced luxury models to wealthy people who just like driving a "big truck." It was fine until the industry started closing the market to people who actually needed them...I miss the old days when trucks were nice but still practical and affordable and you could actually find an 8 foot bed.

[@jakejuracka]

I have had my 2006 Cooper S JCW for 5 years now, and its the best car I could ever want. Its exactly as big as I need it to be, immensely powerful, and an absolute joy to drive. I would be happy sticking with Mini for the foreseeable future, as long as they keep making killer spec two door sports cars!

[@mpow3r972]

'05 JCW Cooper S in Chili Red/White here next to a '23 M3 Competition xDrive. The MINI was my first car and unlike the two M3s I've had, I'll never sell it. I drive the BMW daily and the MINI for fun. Opposite of what probably most people think but, that's my opinion! Happy Motoring man!

[@ravisriram6746]

The original Mini was the cool model, not the newer one.

[@iantm15235]

My wife and I enjoy them. We had a 2011 Clubman for four years. I've got a 2004 Cooper S that's my plaything. We have BMW SUV's for day to day. As long as you stick to the Cooper S variants, these are pretty decent little cars. Almost all of the issues are known and documented. Most repairs are fairly straightforward and clearly documented online. Like the Miata, it's almost impossible to drive a Mini without a smile on your face.

[@nickiemcnichols5397]

Ian Campbell I drove a Miata once, and it was the best handling car I ever drove. It was a cornering monster!

[@C.I...]

But the mini ceased production in 2000... You got yourself a couple of huge BMWs there.

[@kyrrilcrepeele1353]

@@C.I... By your standards a lamborghini is just a volkswagen then? Just because an overarching autogroup takes control of a brand, doesn't mean the original brand no longer exists, Mini is still Mini, it just answers to another boss now.

[@JJHurst]

CNBC getting it wrong as usual....The mini is still cool , if a little overweight. R53 was great, especially in cooper and cooper S form, in fact all 4 generations under BMW have their charms.. Nothing like the original though...👍

[@stevehughes2133]

I love my classic Mini, it just makes me smile! I have never considered or looked at a BMW version they just missed the mark IMO.

[@deggers78]

The mini is one of the coolest cars ever, that was before BMW killed it

[@sterbprepper4798]

You sound old

[@deggers78]

@@sterbprepper4798 and you have never driven the original mini clearly.

[@indiekiddrugpatrol3117]

@@sterbprepper4798 he sounds correct

[@TheToucherOfgrass]

Reason: reliability

[@seyoummichael1722]

Can you make your response in ALL CAPS!!!!

[@andrewnaronin8957]

Mini 3 Door Hatch has the reliability of 91.01%, which is one of the best in its class. Mini Countryman is being called Reliable Great-looking SUV and gets its places in compilations of reliable cars. Also, Mini does a regular facelifts, by which it fixes the minor engineering problems. So, all in all, it's still a reliable pretty car with its own character and fanbase. If you want to find cons of having one - go on, you definitely will, as well as on any other car, but people have reasons to love it.

[@whichdoctor4858]

The 2007 model had a engine chain issue. The latest has a proven BMW engine. It does have weak paint though.

[@vascofrancisco9903]

We in Europe love small cars. The Qashqai is the only crossover in a top 10 dominated by hatchbacks.

[@grahamsmith2022]

As a Brit,please don't confuse the Austin Mini with the pastiche of Mini like styling cues on the bloated BMW,the only thing "Mini" is the badge, the price tag is far from Mini.

[@BuckcreekTV]

My family has owned 3 Mini's (soon to be 4) in the last 5 years and we absolutely ADORE them. It would be great if they were a little more fuel-efficient but that is my only complaint. They truly are fantastic vehicles.

BMW MINI !!! I LOVE THEM! GP2 RULES!

[@geoffchaytor4412]

1:29 It's British Motor Corporation, NOT British Motor Company

[@samy8897]

mini won my heart first while i was playing my first pc game MID-TOWN MADNESS

[@stephanledford9792]

I have a 2018 Mini convertible and love driving it. I did wait to buy till the reliability ratings in the Consumer Reports magazines went from red (bad) to green ( best), which started changing in 2016. This thing is a blast to drive and is get decent mileage. It does have a back seat but it really is only practical for small children. I have been in one of the older Minis and actually appreciate the larger models on the road today. If anyone reading this is thinking about buying a Mini, consider the convertible. Driving with the top down on a beautiful day is an amazing experience.

[@PatGilliland]

2022 checking in, gas just hit $2 a litre. Small may be about to make a huge comeback.

[@dega75]

Small car priced as a big one... No thanks.

[@michaelcap9550]

Mini useful in US as a car clowns cram into at the circus.

[@SeanHendy]

“The mini left the US in the 1960s when it couldn’t keep up with changes in emissions regulations” How ironic. And, is this actually true? Hard to believe given its engine was just 998cc compared to the V8 muscle cars of the same era?

[@dicesof8]

Yes, this is true. The EPA gave too many rules too quickly

[@fivish]

Engine was 850cc.

[@SeanHendy]

Philip Moran amongst various engine sizes 998cc was available from 1964.

[@C.I...]

To my surprise, the newest Rover minis actually didn't pollute that much (in CO2 terms, anyway.). The multi-point injection system must have helped a lot.

[@eriknephrongfr8847]

They’re too expensive

[@dr.OgataSerizawa]

eriknephron gfr Then don't buy one. It's not rocket science!

[@eriknephrongfr8847]

Dr. James Olack It’s called a criticism, Dr.. Also not rocket science.

[@dr.OgataSerizawa]

eriknephron gfr "too expensive"....,Maybe just qualify your statement a bit.....like, too expensive for whom? I suppose we could infer that they're too expensive for "you". Nothing Follows.

[@eriknephrongfr8847]

Dr. James Olack Easy...Anyone for whom value is a virtue.

[@pedroportillo1585]

As an American, I beg to differ. I never think MINI ever lost its cool. Like anything they had to grow and adapt with the times. Sure, BMW pretty much owns MINI, but, MINI is still very unique to other cars, especially in the US.

[@FunForYegon]

Grew up in a village in Africa and this was my Dad's car. Beautiful reliable car

[@isabellajohns191]

It didn’t loose its cool, you lost your cool Mini is always going to be cool

[@wyattscheerer6469]

Watching this after buying a 2014 two days ago😂 I love it

[@temich1985]

The first time I ever heard of this car was from watching Mr. Bean lol

[@philipluxembourg9013]

I had two original minis in the sixties. Had a Mini Paceman for four years and last year purchased a fully loaded upmarket mini, absolutely love it even at my age. Round about 1968 I was at the traffic lights in Tottenham Court Road UK, and there was John Lennon in his souped-up mini and me in my Ford Escort. We got stuck at each set of lights, and my girl friend at the time wouldn’t let me get out of my car to get his autograph.

[@tomsparks3259]

How do you improve the Mini? By making the biggest Mini the world has ever seen!!!

[@Surajsamyang10]

The video ended and i was still waiting for "hw does mini lost its cool".

[@weldorman8495]

Mini lost it's cool the minute BMW "re-designed" it. The original little car was an exercise in engineering innovation. The new mini is just a smaller car with the mini silhouette. Nothing exceptional, nothing innovative.

[@C.I...]

They palmed off a big, expensive speciality coupe to people in the market for a small, cheap mass-produced city car. A testament to the power the old mini's name and reputation it gave them.

[@weldorman8495]

@@C.I... Exactly! By the mid '70s, VW had managed to minimize the FWD torque steer problem with their Rabbit (Golf) allowing FWD cars to have higher-horsepower engines without being dragged into a ditch or on-coming traffic under acceleration which was a drawback with the Cooper and Cooper S minis, particularly when the engines had high-performance work done. It took Honda a bit longer, but soon most FWD cars were 'civilized' under acceleration. The last FWD quirk, that of a FWD car's tendency to lose front-end traction on ice under abrupt throttle release was solved when electronic traction control became commonplace. BMW didn't bring anything new to the table, but simply used existing FWD technology, and dressed it up in a mini-shaped shell, except two-and-a-half feet longer. No mini there.

[@SpitfireFortyFour]

What's even worse is AustinRover had developed a Mini using modern components. It looked identical to the classic Mini but featured the modern K-Series engine and revised interior. It was called the Minki. As soon as BMW took control they axed the project.

[@protik007sbk]

Because its not mini anymore it's bmw

[@cvcoco]

As I remember it in the 60s in the US, Mini wasnt a hit, more people bought the Morris Minor which was a quirky and interesting alternative to the Beetle. And it had enough space! The popularity of the Mini came when they put the 1275cc engine in and when people saw it go like a bat out of hell, things got interesting. Problem was, for all British cars, they were unreliable and generally weak, like weak electrics, suspensions and fuel systems. Thats where VW shined and the Mini steadily fell out of favor.

[@smeterpan3073]

I love my Mini. Nothing could ever change that.

[@ArchefluxxMusic]

Expert Ivan Drury correctly and expertly highlighting how Mini's getting bigger is odd for a car named the Mini.

[@MrMackanno]

The Mini stoped being mini and became an overpriced "almost sedan"

[@Agtsmirnoff]

Omg it drops 2% one year and CNBC felt the need to make a video about it?

[@bigmacdaddy1234]

I have a 2019 Mini...it's excellent.

[@Acord718]

I love mini Cooper I see a lot of people in NYC driving them. My dream is to buy a mini cooper

[@RChyshkevych]

The Mini aint that mini anymore, and kinda expensive for a "small" car

[@oddities-whatnot]

Cars always increase in size with newer models for any brand, although the exception is the new Yaris, its actually shorter than the previous model.

[@subscriberswithoutavideo-xy8vz]

Bought my MINI in 2008 and have been cringing every year since as the new models get larger and uglier each time

[@angelgjr1999]

Yup. I really dislike how all cars are getting bigger now. A Maxima is longer than my 90s suv...

[@treborironwolfe978]

Freud ponders, "Perhaps the *Mini SUV* owners have an unusually large phallus and are, for some reason, ashamed of it."

[@mooglemy3813]

Or it's a little winky and the mini fits perfectly.

[@onenikkione]

The Original Mini much like the late 60's - early 70's Muscle cars (USA) were affordable, reliable, and fun to work on/modify. Period.

[@mihirkulkarni2606]

I hope this so called SUV, Pickup, Crossover vogue fades, so we can again have small beautiful cars again like Coupe, Hatchback, Sedans, Station Wagons.

[@the1thatgotaway928]

I love my mini and is super cool to me. I'm 6'2" 220 lbs and took a 1600 plus miles trip last week and I was very comfortable

[@eugeniaoribe]

The most amazing car. Not going away. It’s a classic

[@krajmutfak8940]

It should be called “AUSTIN MAXI!” My friend had a 2011 model. He didn’t like it, and now drives a Fiat 500.

[@Milnoc]

Get an Abarth, and you end up with a demon go-kart! 😁

[@mrcalderon93]

Fiats are rolling turds

[@hermanmunster3358]

The Austin Maxi was a completely different car, also produced by BMC/British Leyland Group.

[@KariIzumi1]

Oof

[@ocallaghan3865]

Tell your friend to look at the japanese kei car market

[@winc06]

Besides being much larger the German designed MINI does not seat 4 adults which was the original goal. It really is a retro styling exercise. Nice expensive little car though.

[@markrowland1366]

It is styled as the tiny English car but it is over twice the size and weight.

[@alphamadzanire2953]

after watching this, I ask myself, which cars produced in 2019 will be iconic in 60 years time?

[@unicorntomboy9736]

The Tesla model S

[@aleksbalazic]

It lost it's cool when it stopped being a cheap Mini and started being an expensive BMW 1 series

[@mokacat1595]

mini cooper R53 the best mini after the classic mini

[@rnavstar]

This. I wish that it would go back to this size.

[@jezza9774]

I miss my r53. It’s collecting dust and rust.

[@debbiepeter112]

Agree 100%. 2007-present are bloody ugly cars. Drive terribly and are not Minis

[@bigjd2k]

It’s only a matter of time before big SUVs are taxed like crazy because of their lower efficiency. Everything goes in cycles.

[@olivercuenca4109]

I genuinely struggle to understand why fuel efficiency isn't near the top of people's desires out of a car. I mean, I like to save money. Hell, I like to save it so I can spend it on the things I do when I get to the places my fuel-efficient car is taking me. I mean it just makes sense.